Miles k



(No Model.)

M. K. LEWIS & A. B. STARKY.

WELL BORING MAGHINB.

No. 344,389. Patented June 29,1886.

Milli WITJV'ESSES/ MILES K. LEVIS, OF HASTINGS, AND ANDREV B. STARKY, OF MINDEN, NEBR.

WELL-BORING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 344,389, dated June 29, 1836.

Application filed August 21, 1885. Serial No. 174,982. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom, t may concern:

' Be it known that we, MILES K. LEWIS and ANDREW B. STARKY, citizens of the United States, residing at Hastings and Minden, in

the counties of Adams and Kearney and State of Nebraska, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Vell BoringfliIacl'iines, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

Our invention relates to animprovement in well-borers; and it consists in the peculiar construction and combination of devices, that will be more fully set forth hereinafter, and particularly pointed out in the claim.

In the drawings, Figure l is a perspective view of a boring-plant l embodying our improvements. Fig. 2 is a detailed elevation of the shafting and auger, showing the same connected to rotate together. Fig. 3 is a similar 2o view of the same, the auger being detached from the shafting; and Figs. 4 and 5 are detailed sectional views showing our improved de` vices for coupling` the sections of the shafting.

.A represents a derriek, which is of the ordinary construction, having the pulleys a b at its upper end, and the winding-windlasses c and (l.

B represents the shafting, made of sections of cylindrical iron pipe, each section having 3o a wronght-iron pin, C, riveted or otherwise firmly secured in its upper end and project ing therefrom. This projecting pin is adapted to enter the lower end of a similar section of pipe, and tobe secured therein by a metallic key or keeper, D, that is inserted transversely in aligned openings E,madein the pipe and pin. This keyds equalinlength to the outside diameter ofthe pipe, about one-fourth of an inch in thickness, and about an inch and one-fourth 4o in breadth, and in the center of this key is a small circular transverse opening, cl, that registers with a similar opening, e, made in the upper end of the pin and the lower end of the pipe. Awooden pin, F, is then driven through the openings c and d', and firmly secures the key in place, and prevents it from moving so as to project beyond either side of the pipe. rlhe pin F, being made of wood, is compressed so tightly in place as to be prevented from 5o moving, as will be readily understood, thus making a coupling having no projections on the outside of the pipes, so as to allow an auger, II, having a hollow cylindrical core, 7l, to slide vertically freely on the shafting, the bore in the core corresponding to the outside diameter of the shafting, as shown.

In the bottoni ot' the lower section of the shafting is secured a drilling or boring point,

I, and projecting on oppositesides of thclower end of the lower section of the sliafting are 6o feathers K, the upper ends of which are pointed. The lower end of the core of the auger has substantially invertedV-shaped notches L, with the upper ends of which communicate vertical slots h2, adapted to receive the feathers when the anger is lowered on the shafting, and thereby lock the shalting and auger together and cause them both to rotate when one does.

By pointing the ends of the feathers and 7e providing the lower end of the core of the auger with the inverted-Vshaped notches the feathers are directed into the slots when the auger is lowered. To the upper end of the augellljytiaohcd a swivel, L. A rope, m, is wbnd upon the windlasswc'fpasses over the pulley a, and is attached to the swivel, and a rope, z, is attached to the upper end of the shafting, passed over the pulley l), and wound upon the windlass d.

In boring a well the auger is slipped on the lower section of the shafting, and the ropes at` tached to the anger and the shafting and tightened to hold the latter in a perfectly-vertical position, when the auger is lowered on the S5 shafting and the latter rotated in the usual well-known manner to bore into the earth. As the boring proceeds, an additional section is coupled onto the shafting, as hereinbefore described. The auger is raised from the bore from time to time by lioistingxitrnp on the shafting to remove the-eX/eavated earth from thexwllbut thesliaftin g is liever raised until'th'e`wel1'is entirely bored, the shafting thus serving asa gnidefr the anger to direct the latter i na` perfectly vertical and` straight line, thus insu ri ng a perfectly-straight vertical bore to the well. As the shafting is raised from the well when completed, the sections of the shafting are detached by driving out the keys roo and causing them to cut through the wooden plus.

No claim is made to the apparatus shown in Figs. 2 and 3 of the drawings, and described herein, as this vforms no part of the present invention.

Having thus described our invention, we claim-- 'Ihe pipesectionshuving the projecting pins secured at one end and adapted to enter un adjacent section, openings in the pipes and pins, the keys adapted to enter said openings und secure the sections of the shai'ting together, the transverse openings through the pipes, 

